Geo 102 Midterm #1

The study of the complex relationship between humans and their geological environment.

1. Biosphere

2. Hydrosphere

3. Lithosphere

4. Atmosphere

5. Extraterrestrial

The gaseous envelope that encircles the earth.

Solid portion of the earth from the interior to the crust, composed of rock, unconsolidated rock, minerals, and some soils.

All water on the earth, lakes, oceans, rivers, ice, and soil water.

All living and dead organic materials, plants, animals, and soils.

Energy from the sun, meteors, space dust.

Long wave radiation from earth to space.

Used to transfer information from the globe to flat surface.

The measured relationship between the distances on the ground and the distances on the map.

Covers a global region. Cities are basically dots.

A map where you can see individual houses.

Distance on the map : Distance on the earths surface (1:1000)

What you see on the map is equal to what you see in real life.

A short line divided into segments which represents actual distances on the ground

Used to indicate presence and location of phenomena.

Used to indicate presence, location, and quantities of phenomena.

A special type of line that joins points of equal elevation. Used to identify land forms.

Can never cross each other, hachure contour lines show a depression, contour lines that are far apart mean an area isn't steep and vice versa, circle lines means a conical peak of a depression.

The contour lines shaped like a V points upstream.

Ventricle differences between 2 known points divided by the horizontal distance between these two same points.

Substances that cant be changed into other substances by normal chemical methods.

Are neutral when they have the same number of negatively charged electrons as the positively charged protons.

Atoms that aren't neutral.

The attraction of ions of opposite charge to one another resulting in a neutral condition.

When atoms share electrons.

Refers to the number of protons in its nucleus.

The weight of all the protons and neutrons that make up the nucleus.

Naturally occurring, inorganic, crystalline solid that have definite chemical composition and possess characteristic physical properties.

Indicates that a mineral is not made from living and fossilized organic material.

1. Talc, 2. Gypsum, 3. Calcite, 4. Flourite, 5. Apatite, 6. Feldspar, 7. Quartz, 8. Topaz, 9. Corundum, 10. Diamond.

The appearance of light reflected from the surface of a mineral.

A minerals ability to transmit light.

Minerals transmit light freely.

Minerals transmit light although it may be hard to see through them.

Minerals do not transmit light at all, appear solid.

90', all faces are the same length, 3 axes.

90', 2 faces are the same length, 3 axes.

60', 4 axes.

90', all axes are different lengths.

At least 1 angle isn't 90', all axes are different lengths.

No 90' angles, all axes are different lengths.

The tendency of a mineral to break along a preferred planes of weakness or weak bonds and typically leaves planar surface when broken.

1. Planar surface

2. Flat

3. Shiny

4. Repeated at different levels

Some minerals don't have cleavage planes, they break unevenly and fracture.

Naturally occurring, consolidated solid material comprised of aggregates of one or more minerals or solidified organic materials.

Originates deep within the earths lithosphere/upper mantle, due to the melting of rocks and associated minerals.

The name given to molten rocks when it reaches the earths surface from volcanic activity.

Derived from the cooling and crystallization of magma and lava.

Size of grains in the rock. Influenced by rate of cooling, the original temp of magma, and the specific crystallization temp of mineral.

The grains are too small to see with the naked eye.

Fine grained texture

The colour of an igneous rock depends on the colour of constituent minerals.

Tend to be light coloured

A dark coloured phaneritic rock.

Two components:

1. Oceanic Crust-- About 7km thick

2. Continental Crust-- 35-40km thick

Comprised of the crust and upper part of the mantle.

Upper part of the mantle which is soft and weak due to warmer temp.

A solid rocky shell from the bottom of the crust down to 2900 km. Makes up 82% of the earths volume.

Increased pressure overrides increasing temperature and the rocks get stronger in the lower mantle. 660-2900 km deep.

Iron rich material, average density 11g/cm^3

2270 km thick liquid layer that flows.

Has a radius of 1216km where pressure is so great it behaves as a solid.

Possible to determine the position of an ancient part of a continent relative to the geographic north or south.

The outer layer of the earth consists of mobile slabs of the lithosphere.

5-10km thick, basalts, more dense 3.0g/cm^3.

20-90km thick, more silica rich igneous, sedementary, and metamorphic, less dense 2.7/cm^2.

1. Divergent (spreading)

2. Convergent (compression, subduction)

3. Transform (strike/slip)

Creating new crust on the outside of the earth, typically oceanic, active volcanism, higher than normal heat flow, and shallow earthquakes.

2 lithospheric plates are driven towards each other in collision. The denser plate is forced beneath and down into the mantle.

Either plate can be sub ducted, presence of a trench. Benioff zone can be steep or very steep.

Oceanic plate is always sub ducted beneath continental plate. Volcanism, earthquakes, and benioff zone can be shallow.

Neither continental plate will be sub ducted due to isostasy. Major mountain building.

Lithospheric material is neither created nor consumed, a break along two plates which grind past each other. No volcanism, subduction, or benioff zone.

Plate moves not the mantle plume, so old volcanoes die and new volcanoes are formed.

Formed by the consolidation and lithification of sediments and/or ion in solution.

Made from weathered fragments of pre-existing rocks. Look at clast size, composition, sorting, and angularity and sphericity.

Rocks derived from a process in which organisms were involved, or carbonate rocks (limestone, dolostone, chalk) were involved.

A chemical process where ions are pushed out of a solution.